Jon Lester

2013

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2012

Lester had another strong season, his fourth straight, and at 28, he's entering his prime years. The left-hander suffered some control issues and saw his strikeout rate drop, but he had stretches of dominance, too. Along with Josh Beckett, Lester is at the top of Boston's rotation and pitches in front of a run-producing lineup. The X-factor entering the 2012 season is how he'll respond to the leaks about his clubhouse behavior that came out of Boston's late-season collapse. As a dogged competitor who never gives in, Lester should be driven to change perceptions.

2011

Lester won a career-high 19 games, threw over 200 innings for the third straight season, and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting in 2010. His 9.7 K/9IP led the American League and he held opponents to a .220 batting average (fourth in AL). Other than a slight uptick in walks, Lester proffered another dominant season as Boston's de facto No. 1 starter. All signs point to another big season from him at age 27 as he continues to be the most consistent of the Red Sox's starting pitchers.

2010

Lester, 26, posted his second consecutive strong season after beating cancer, throwing over 200 innings in 2008 and 2009. Of particular note, Lester improved his strikeout rate from 6.5 K/9IP to 10.0 K/9IP last season. That translates to 73 more punchouts in seven less innings. He's been Boston's most consistent starter during his recent run. The walks, the bugaboo early in his career, are dropping and Lester's clearly becoming one of the better pitchers in the AL.

2009

Lester became Boston's ace in 2008 and was the team's most consistent pitcher from April to October. What changed for Lester is that he began throwing more first-pitch strikes while walking relatively fewer batters. He appeared to be getting stronger as the season wore on, even while pitching 129 innings more than his previous career high. Lester established himself as one of the game's best starters during the second half of the season and will be part of a fine threesome along with Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Beckett may be the nominal No. 1 starter and Matsuzaka may have had more wins, but Lester was clearly the best on the staff.

2008

Lester, MLB's winner of the Tony Conigliaro award for overcoming adversity, was brought back slowly in 2007 after battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He never really found a groove and continued to walk batters at a high rate. He's a fourth or fifth starter if he's still with Boston come April. Lester's name has been mentioned in trade talks with Minnesota. In either place, he'll be part of the starting rotation.

2007

Lester is obviously a question mark entering the 2007 season in light of the lymphoma he was diagnosed with last September. He reports that he's cancer-free after treatment and is looking forward to spring training. Unfortunately, Boston has five set starters. He lived dangerously in his 15 starts in 2006, getting into trouble often via the walk. He's a cool customer on the mound, however, and often worked his way out of jams. He's a power pitcher with a low-to-mid 90s fastball, which is his out pitch. Of course, monitor him this spring to see how the illness has affected him.

2006

When the Red Sox were negotiating the Josh Beckett deal, they told the Marlins that Lester was going nowhere. The team likes the athletic lefty, who has good movement on his low-to-mid-90s fastball, which he uses as his out pitch. He has an above-average change up, an 11-to-5 curve (low 70s) and worked on developing a cutter in 2005. He'll likely begin the 2006 season at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he can work to reduce his walks and continue to be a power strikeout pitcher. Lester is a hard worker and prepares well for each game.

2005

Lester is still learning pitching mechanics and developing consistency, but the lefty is improving. Looking into his numbers, we see some good signs. He’s shown the ability to keep the ball in the park, and last season had a better K/9 ratio for Single-A Sarasota in the Florida State League. He should be moving up to Double-A, where we expect continued development.